Of Bugs and Dogs
by tissue paper flowers
Summary: [Kiba x Shino] Series of KibaxShino drabbles written for the LJ community 30kisses. Various genres and ratings. Enjoy
1. 24 Goodnight

**Title**: Under the Stars

**Pairing**: KibaxShino

**Theme**: #24 Goodnight

**Genre**: Angst/Tragedy

The battle's origins took root at dawn. It was almost epic in size, shinobi and missing nin more numerous than even the stones that filled the clearing at the base of the mountains. Both sides were ruthless in their onslaught, using every last resource available to them. The first few to fall had used their chakra carelessly, draining themselves before the end of the first hour. Of course, it had not been all fighting. Just as much time as they spent combating against each other, they spent hiding. Lurking in the nearby trees, wedging themselves safely between rocks--anywhere they could find.

This cycle of fighting and hiding continued, medic nin working until their fingers bled. And even when this happened, they still continued. It was not until night had fallen that the dust finally settled, stars shining down and illuminating the corpses that were scattered across the ground. Any survivors had already fled, taking what wounded they could back with them. The dead were left where they lay. Perhaps to be collected at some later time, perhaps to rot back into the Earth.

There was a stirring and shifting among the bodies, a dark haired man sitting up with a low groan. He was alive, at least. His glasses were cracked but still on his face, skin dirty and clothes stained with blood. Some of it was his, but the vast majority was the blood of his adversaries. Sharp barking cut through his mind, serving to intensify the already pounding headache that rocked through his body. He glanced around, eyes drawn to a white, furry shape. Shakily, he pulled himself up off the ground, stumbling as legs found their strength again. Akamaru--now six years older and fully grown--was barking wildly, prancing around a hunched over shape. This drew some amount of concern from the bug master, and he moved as quickly as his body would allow. Which, coincidentally, wasn't very fast. His eyes widened behind his broken glasses when he got a good look at what the dog was barking about.

"No…" Came softly from the Aburame, dropping to his knees beside his team mate…his friend…his lover. This couldn't be right. Kiba was strong. He was strong, dammit. Tenderly, Shino turned the other over onto his back, cringing at what he saw. Kiba's front was soaked in blood, though most of it--unlike Shino--was his own. Kiba's eyes were closed, and Shino realized it. He was dead. The Inuzuka's chest rose and fell slightly, the last remains of life flooding out of him. Shino pulled off his glasses, staring down at the other. He cupped the male's face in his hands, leaning down and placing a firm kiss on Kiba's lips. Pulling back only slightly, Shino watched in awe as the other's dark eyes blinked open.

"I love your eyes…" Were the first words that came from the dying man. The usual stoic expression on Shino's have had contorted to a mixture of fear and happiness.

"Kiba." He returned softly, not sure of what to say now. So instead of speaking, Shino kissed the other gently, running a tongue lightly along Kiba's chapped lips. Realizing that Kiba was probably having a hard enough time breathing already, Shino pulled back once more, slipping one hand into the mop of dark hair. Kiba opened his mouth to speak, but instead, coughed up blood. This was it. He had only minutes left now. This hit Shino like a brick wall.

"Kiba, Goodb-" He started, but was cut off by the other.

"No, not goodbye." The Inuzuka returned weakly. "Just Goodnight." His body gave a small spasm, eyes closing for the last time. Shino nodded slowly, fighting back tears.

"Goodnight, Kiba."

_-owari-_


	2. 20 The Road Home

**Title**: Good Intent   
**Author**: Tissue Paper Flowers  
**Theme**: #20 The Road Home  
**Rating**: PG

It started as a rumor. No one even knew who it had been that started the rumor. But the important thing was that it had gotten around. And fast. Before too long, everyone was whispering about it. He was coming back. "He" being a one Aburame Shino. And he was coming back. Home. Konoha. His reasons for leaving had not been personal, merely an mission that required his expertise. There was not supposed to be sadness when he departed. At least, not extreme sadness. And for most, there hadn't been. Except Kiba. Heartwrenching, even. But now...now things could be normal again. Shino was coming home.

How long had it been? One month? Two? To be very exact, it had been two months, three weeks, five days, and some odd number of hours. Not that Kiba had been keeping track or anything.

He was going to be the first one to see Shino. He just had to be. Why? Because Shino was all his. So to accomodate this, the Inuzuka began making his plans. While everyone else waited around the village for Shino to return, he'd go down the road and meet the bug boy before anyone else had the chance. It was a perfect plan. Flawless, even. Though, there was one thing even he hadn't picked up on. He had no clue which road Shino would be taking to get to Konoha. Pity that he hadn't realized this.

Midmorning, the day Shino was coming home, Kiba rolled out of bed, leaving Akamaru sleeping on the pillow. The dog lifted his head sleepily, starind at Kiba as he made his way towards the door. The Inuzuka froze, feeling the animal's eyes on his back.

"Sorry boy, you c-" He started, but was cut off by a low growl from the dog. Dammit. Of course, the only one it made sense to was Kiba, but it could have been roughly translated as you 'Don't think you're just leaving me here'. The teen folded his arms across his chest, trying to be-or at least just look-defiant. This attempt was shot down by a soft yap from Akamaru.

"Fine." Kiba huffed, turning back to the dog with a small grin. "But get up now, I need to hurry." If dogs could have laughed, then he might have, but instead the now sizably larger dog just lept from the bed, sitting at the feet of his master and staring up at him. Kiba nodded, opening the door and stepping out , Akamaru at his heels.

Still blissfully unaware to the fact that there were multiple ways to get into Konoha, Kiba chose the first one that he happened across. The look on his face showed a great amount of confidence, the outward result of his ignorance. The boy could not help but hum to himself as he continued down the road, feeling incredibly clever. He could only imagine the looks on everyones faces when Shino's arrival was delayed. Perhaps even by hours, if Kiba got to do everything that he would have liked the welcome the other home. Ha. He really was a genius.

An hour passed, and no sign of Shino. He changed his walk to a light jog.

Another hour passed, and the jog was back down to a walk.

Two hours went by, and an incredibly frustrated Kiba took off at a sprint. Meanwhile, at this very same time, a dark haired, sunglasses wearing young man entered Konoha, via the main road. There, he was greeted by several 'Welcome home!'s and 'How are you?'s, though none of them were from the person he was hoping to see. Shino kept his responses very brief, usually no more than one word, or just a nod, if he was feeling especially stingy. The Aburame scanned several times across the small crowd, hoping to at least spot Akamaru's fur. Sakura...no. Naruto...no. Hinata...no. No, no, no. Goddamit, where was Kiba?

Realizing that just wondering where the boy was not going to get anything accomplished, Shino frowned. "Hinata..." He said slowly, turning to the Hyuuga girl. A small smile crossed her face, looking up at her teammate. "Yes, Shino-kun?" she asked softly. "Where's Kiba?" The girl thought about it for a moment, and nodded. "Well, Shino-kun..." She began, glancing away. "This morning, I saw him leave down the ieji road. I don't know why, though."

Shino nodded. Hinata may not have known why, but he could take a good guess. "Idiot." He muttered under his breath, shaking his head. "What?" Hinata asked. "Nothing." He returned. Without another word, he turned on his heel, headed off towards the road that Kiba had been seen going up.

It was all in this small amount of time that Kiba had given up on sprinting, letting himself tumble to the ground, lying in the middle of the road. Arms and legs spread out eagle style, he stared up at the sky, small pout on his lips. Fine. He'd just wait for Shino. Who--he might add--was taking his good sweet time. Akamaru curled up beside his master, promptly going to sleep.

Late afternoon soon turned to night, and Kiba did not move from the spot. His eyes traced across the stars that littered the sky, sighing softly. "Shinooooo." He whined, closing his eyes.

"What?" The Inuzuka boy nearly jumped out of his skin. The last thing he had expected to hear was an answer. Not like he was complaing. For a moment, he wondered why he hadn't even noticed Shino approaching. The most likely answer was simply that his mind had wandered much to far from his body to pick up on it. Kiba jumped to his feet, grinning widely at the other. Shino winced, knowing exactly what was coming next. There was the sound of bodies  
hitting the ground, Kiba settling himself down on top of Shino.

"How the hell did you get here?" He demanded.

"Walked." Shino's reply was simply, but he knew it would get a good response from Kiba.

"I know that! But you came up from Konoha..."

"Because that's where I started."

"But that means-" Kiba cut himself off with a laugh. "Heh, it doesn't matter. I've got a lot of time to make up for..." With that, he promptly placed a firm kiss on his lover's lips, hands sliding around the bug boy's neck.

"We won't be headed home for a while." Kiba added with a soft chuckle, pulling his lips back only far so that he could speak.

"Fair enough."

_-owari- _


	3. 14 Radio Cassette Player

**Title**: Tangled  
**Author**: Tissue Paper Flowers   
**Theme**: #14 Radio-cassette player   
**Disclaimer**: Don't own Naruto, or anything even closely related to it. ;;  
**Rating**: Borderline PG

"So have you listened to it yet?" There was a rather bright expression on the shinobi's face, as he stared eagerly into the sunglass-masked eyes of a one Shino Aburame. Akamaru rested silently atop Kiba's head, eyes closed as he dozed in the afternoon sun. For a few moments, Kiba and Shino simply stood there, face to face, not a single word spoken between the two. After what seemed like ages, the Aburame boy finally opened his mouth, allowing only a few words to escape.

"I already told you, my cassette player's broken."

A loud sigh echoed from Kiba, shoulders slumping forward. Yes, he had already known this. But still, there was a chance that maybe Shino had gone to seek out a different cassette player to use. Wishful thinking, it seemed. For a moment, he let his mind slip away into thought, trying to think of the proper way to handle the situation. After all, he had given Shino the tape with the intent that it would be listened to. Obviously. But if it was broken...well, then that just ruined everything. A small pout crossed the Inuzuka's lips, and he shook his head slowly. What to do, what to do. And then, like a bolt of lightning, it hit him.

"Well then, I'll just have to fix it for you."

Not to say that he had ever fixed anything in his life, but it was worth a shot. How hard could it be? It was just a cassette player, after all. All he had to do was fiddle with a few buttons, maybe give it a few good whacks, and it would be working fine. The fact that his attempts at fixing things had never been successful seemed to do very little to change Kiba's mind about his brilliant idea. It was this very idea that drew a raised eyebrow from Shino, the bug boy contemplating it for a moment, before returning the suggestion with a small nod.

"If you insist."

Kiba's face lit up with a smile, giving the Aburame a small push to set him into motion. If it weren't for the fact that Kiba was hurrying them along, Shino might have dragged his feet for ages. The closer they came to his house, the more doubtful he became. Was this really a good idea? He shrugged to himself, finally deciding to stop worrying about it. It couldn't possibly do any harm…right? He certainly hoped so. There were no words exchanged between the two males as they continued, though there was the occasional nudge from Kiba, a silent 'Hurry Up.' Being difficult would have done him very little good, so Shino complied with the other's request, picking up his pace--if only slightly. 

Several minutes and a few nudges later, the two stood in front of the Aburame household. Kiba's eyes shifted to his left, falling on the silent boy. What little amount of manners he had told him to wait for Shino to 'invite' him in, but he wasn't sure if he could stand any more waiting.

"Well, come on then." Kiba said, trying not to let impatience show in his voice. It didn't really matter though--he was pretty sure Shino could tell. "I can't fix it if we're just standing out here." Shino shifted his position slightly, gazing at the other from behind his glasses. Without a word, he opened the door and marched inside, Kiba following after obediently.

The journey from the front door to Shino's room was silent and uneventful, much like their trip to the house. This time, Kiba kept himself from trying to hurry the other along, instead taking his time to observe the surroundings. This was the first time he had actually been inside Shino's house. And he had to admit--it was pretty impressive. Bigger than his, for sure.

Shino stopped abruptly, Kiba catching himself just in time and avoiding collision with the other. A door was slid open, and Shino stepped inside the room, turning to motion for Kiba to follow. A grin turned up at the corners of Kiba's mouth as he followed after, glancing around. The room was sparsely decorated, which he certainly didn't find surprising. This was Shino they were talking about, after all. A cassette player lay atop the dresser, a yet to be heard tape enclosed inside it.

"This it?" He asked, picking up the cassette player in his hands, turning towards Shino. His answer was given in the form of a nod, and Kiba instantly went to 'work'. Purely out of curiosity, Shino shuffled forward, trying to get a better look at what the other was doing. Kiba glanced up momentarily, grin widening as the boy moved closer. Yes…he liked it better like that.

In response, Kiba took a few steps towards Shino, the only thing that separated the two being the cassette player. Which was—surprisingly enough—incredibly difficult to figure out. The boy's expression changed from smug happiness to frustration, as he began working more furiously at the player. Shino's brows furrowed as he continued watching, doubting that Kiba actually knew what he was doing. 

Minutes passed, and as time trudged onward, Kiba's frustration escalated. What the hell was wrong with this thing? He was now pulling frantically at various parts, desperate to get some sort of response. The cover that held the tape in place popped open, a few shining strands of brown tape spilling out.

"Shit…" Kiba cursed under his breath, but continued onward. Small pieces of plastic as well as strands of tape went flying, as he moved farther and farther away from his goal.

"Kiba." The boy's head snapped upward, brought of his flurry by Shino's voice. By now, his actions had managed to cause the strands of tape from the cassette to wind itself around both their bodies, tangling the two together. 

"Yes?" Kiba asked innocently, trying to make it look as though he were completely unaware of the mess that he had just made. Shino blinked behind his glasses, suppressing a laugh. The smallest smile twitched at the bug boy's lips, and he gave a small shrug. 

"You're stupid." He said finally, shaking his head slowly. This 'insult' only caused a wide grin to spread across the Inuzuka's face. This closeness was even better than before because now Shino couldn't get away. At least, not without a little bit of struggle. Not that cassette tape was really a difficult barrier to break through.

Leaning forward, Kiba pressed his lips gently against the other's, lingering for only seconds before pulling away and setting to untangling the two of them. A quick glance at the rather shocked look on Shino's face brought a low chuckle from the male.

"Hey, at least I tried." He replied after a moment, deciding to stay tangled for just a bit longer.


	4. 25 Fence

**Title**: The Killing Camps   
**Author**: Tissue Paper Flowers  
**Theme**: #25 Fence   
**Rating**: R  
**Author's Note**: This is an AU fic, takes place in Germany during the Holocaust. I experimented writing in a different tense.

The only thing that separates the two is a fence. Chain link, that seems to stretch up for miles. Barbed wire is wound around the top, to keep from the changing of sides. Pieces of cloth are caught up in the barbs, lasting reminders of the people that have tried to cross. No one has every succeeded. And no one has ever lived. You are either caught by the barbs, or if you managed to bypass the barbs, then you were caught by the Gestapo as soon as your feet touched the ground on the other side. Either way ends in blood shed.

The camps have special names, but their inhabitants know them by much simpler terms. One side is the killing camp. The other is the working camp. If you are in the working camp, there is a chance of living long enough to become a free man (or woman, depending) once more. If you are in the killing camp, then you will die. Neither is much better than the other, but at the least on the working camp you have a chance. People were always trying to get from the killing camp to the working camp. Never the other way around.

Some are there because they are Jews. Some are criminals. Others are gypsies. They are homosexual. And the fence still separates them. Kiba is going to die. Shino has a chance of living. How cruel fate is, to throw them on opposite sides like this. No one every wants to cross from the working side to the killing side. But Shino would give anything to be standing beside Kiba, instead of across from him.

Days on both sides are spent toiling in the mud-- grueling labor. But still the two meet every night at this fence, dragging tired and broken bodies to the darkest corner. Here, where the pre-set spotlights don't quite reach and no guard's patrol route happens across. It is there place. Both wearing soiled grey uniforms, they gaze at each other through the slightly rusted metal. Shino has been robbed of his sunglasses, and Kiba's face is crossed with ugly scars, in attempts by Gestapo remove the areas of tattooed skin. No words are ever exchanged between them. It's too dangerous. If they were to be overheard, then hey would be shot on sight.

But words are not needed. The only is the soft clang of fingers meshing through metal, threading with each other, chapped palms separated only by the fence. Cracked lips meet through on of the fence's many holes, dry tongues tangling with each other in need. Finally, the pull back for breath, eyes caught in a deadlock. The two men seem frozen in time, before stealing away another sandpaper kiss.

"Tomorrow." Kiba murmurs against his lovers lips. The only response from Shino is a soft gasp, naked eyes widening in fear. He knew this day would come…eventually. But now? Why now? It was too soon. Much too soon. 

Without saying a word, his finger's slide from Kiba's, only to slip back into the fence a moment later. Kiba stares blankly up at him, holding his breath as Shino scales higher up the fence. If he says anything, then they will both die. There is no doubt about this. A cry of pain comes from Shino as his hands curl around the barbed wire. He lets himself tumble to the ground, not bothering to try and climb down. Most of the skin from his hands is left tangled up in the barbs, but none of that matters now.

Kiba cradles the man in his arms, feeling hot tears brim in the corners of his eyes. Palms bleeding profusely, Shino reaches up, sliding his hands around the other's neck. The sound of dogs barking rings through the camp, as spotlights are manually adjusted to point in their direction, capturing the lovers in it's burning glare.

Slowly, Kiba pulls a shaking Shino up to his feet, enjoying their last few moments of breath. Soon, they would be free. A fiery kiss is the last thing either of them feel before white spots explode behind their eyes, bullets tearing through the two men's bodies.

Like lifeless dolls, they collapse to the ground, tangled together on the same side of the fence.


End file.
